A Week in TV (27th February-3rd March 2012)

This week saw another return to upward trend that the second half of season two has provided thus far. The first half was, in a way, lifeless as the locale stayed grounded and plotlines were trickled out at a very slow pace. Since the break concluded, things have become less like they were and more like what they should be. This week saw a mass zombie chase that was both fun to watch and gruesome at the same time. The inevitable showdown between Rick and Shane that has been simmering for many, many, weeks now also occurred and it did not disappoint, though I would’ve liked it if the growing annoyance that is Shane was left on that bus to be chomped on and used as a food source for those walkers.

One thing I did notice, and I may be confused, but doesn’t this virus spread through blood? When Shane used the knife to kill one of the walkers, blood would have been left on the blade, which he then used to make an incision in his palm. If that’s the case, shouldn’t he now be joining the walker herd? Like I said, I may have gotten something jumbled along the way.

Anyway, this week’s episode was easily the finest in a long time. Things certainly seem to be stepping up a notch from the slow first half and where this show goes next is a mystery to me as I have no familiarity with the comics at all. I hear the Governor has been cast and I also hear he is a pivotal character so I look forward to that!

Castle – Once Upon a Crime

After two weeks of co-ordinating with the CIA and stopping the US government from collapsing entirely, things return to the realm of normality in Castle land. A girl is dead, wearing a Red Riding Hood costume and looking to have been mauled by a big bad wolf. We’ve had ghosts and tigers this season, so why not fairytale characters, too? To be honest, as much as these wacky cases can be fun sometimes, I prefer the murders that are actually ‘normal’, with a regular death, killer and story to unravel. These bizarre killings are somewhat of a distraction but can be fun, nonetheless. I enjoyed this week’s episode, as I always do, but it was nothing out of the ordinary.

I will continue to say this but Castle and Beckett needs to happen sooner rather than later. We know it’s going to happen, they know it’s going to happen and the sooner that is, the better. These two characters have been two that I have been willing to get together for a long time and for various reasons. However, if you stretch out the ‘will they, won’t they?’ for too long, it gets to be tiring and laborious. This is what happened on Bones, for me at least; I had been willing for them to get together for a long time but by the time it actually happened, I wasn’t interested anymore. I don’t want this to happen to Castle. My opinion is that getting together at the end of this season would be the perfect time to do it but we all know things never quite work out that well in TV land…

Ringer – P.S. You’re an Idiot

The title of this week’s episode is ironic, given that I now consider most, if not all, of the characters on this show to be idiots; They forget pivotal details, allow themselves to be duped so effortlessly and flounce around like somebody has removed brain cells from their head by force. Again, I question myself as to why I continue to watch a show that is clearly impressing me less and less each week and although I do say that I only watch for Sarah Michelle Gellar, there obviously has to be another reason because SMG alone is not worth sitting through this. Upon thinking, it came to me that despite its countless flaws, Ringer remains to be a show that can actually be quite compelling when it wants to be. It’s just that episodes like this demonstrate how poor it can be.

I’m not going to say an awful lot about it because you can gather most of what I want to say from me saying how poor it is, but nearly all of the plot ‘twists’ in this episode could be seen coming from a mile away. I know I did. It was so ‘guessable’ that I could’ve skipped the episode and not even missed much. The stuff with Juliet’s mother was so easily seen coming that I laughed, as well as because the entire storyline is ridiculous at best. I know that not everybody is the same but would you really give the man who supposedly raped your daughter a several million dollar payout, just for her ‘peace of mind’? That part of the plot is what everything else hinges on and it’s so unbelievable that I can’t take any of it seriously.

So, in conclusion, it was another week on the sinking ship known as Ringer. Nothing new.

Revenge – Scandal

The weeks when Revenge is not on TV are the weeks I hate the most. After being somewhat disappointed with the last episode, this week was not one I disliked. I still feel that the killing of Tyler instead of Daniel was a cop-out, but the aftermath has been excellent to watch thus far. This show is absolutely excellent at keeping you on your toes with a rapidly moving plot and twists at every corner, and this episode was nothing out of the ordinary. However, I have to confess that I saw the twist with the Japanese guy (sorry, I am really bad with names sometimes) being the one responsible for delivering the fatal bullets coming from a long way off. I don’t like it when I can guess plot developments before they happen and I definitely don’t like it from a show that spends most of its time doing the opposite.

All that being said, I enjoyed this week’s episode and once again, I look forward to the next. The whole ‘Revenge’ story does seem to be coming to a head so if the show does get renewed, which is very likely, I wouldn’t be surprised to see another revenge story arc with a different cast.

Law and Order: SVU – Child’s Welfare

Week after week, I continue to enjoy this new, exciting, season of SVU. This week was no different. Once again, it was tense and had a great story (two, in fact) to carry through. I’m still not entirely keen on the character of Simon but his appearance was a nice throwback to earlier seasons. However, as soon as he suggested that Olivia see them every week for Sunday dinner, I knew nothing short of a celestial event was going to happen to prevent that. Olivia never gets anything good in her life, which is another reason why I know this romance of hers is destined to end badly.

Still, the other story of the week, involving kidnapped girls being forced to have babies, was interesting and disgusting at the same time, a feat which SVU has accomplished countless times. Once again, the new character additions continue to impress me as well as the skills of the older cast members. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – this show still has a lot left to give, and it better have the chance to do so.

Awake – Pilot

When a new show pilots, it either greatly impresses me, leaves not much of a lasting impression or is a dismal failure. Awake, despite its bizarre concept and easily confusing plot, was a fantastic pilot. You can tell that it’s going to have a procedural nature to it, which is fine, but the ‘awake/asleep’ concept running in the background is going to be good enough to separate it from others. It’s this concept that made the pilot so good to me. It’s different and almost sci-fi in nature, yet compelling and interesting at the same time. Everytime he wakes up, I am wondering whether he’s waking up from a dream or waking up IN a dream. With no discernible way to tell which is which, seeing this happen every week will be something I can look forward to.

I also liked the interactions between the main character and his therapists in either reality, as well as his wife and son. I’m sure that these will continue to get better as time goes by, I just hope the show is allowed to do that. I know the pilot received an acceptable ratings figure but I’m not sure whether it will sustain this or not. I really hope people continue to watch it and don’t abandon it in droves, but I can’t tell whether they will or not. If they do, it will be a damn shame.